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Star need not take all responsibility for perception gap: Public Editor

Ontario Press Council correct in determining reporting on Mayor Rob Ford exposed perception gap between newspapers and the public they serve.

The Ontario Press Council ruled on Oct. 15, 2013, that the Star reported fairly and responsibly on Mayor Rob Ford and the "crack video" scandal. Press council hearing members are, left to right, Joanne De Laurentiis,George Thomson and Drew Gragg. (Colin McConnell / Toronto Star)

That’s somewhat of an understatement to me. From my seat in the public editor’s office, I’m often keenly aware of a perception gap between journalists and the public in whose interest we operate.

Indeed, a significant aspect of serving as the Star’s public editor involves communicating readers’ concerns about the Star’s journalism to its journalists and explaining journalism and the Star’s journalistic standards to its readers. This is in line with the Star’s commitment to transparency and accountability.

The press council is right in concluding that “the robust and extensive journalistic standards that good newspaper reporting should meet are not well known or understood by the public . . .

“This lack of knowledge is contributing to the disconnect between the parties and should be of some concern to the newspaper.”

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I expect most anyone who attended the press council’s recent public hearings that scrutinized the Star’s reporting on the mayor and the video — and also examined the Globe and Mail’s reporting on the Ford’s family’s alleged history with drug dealing — came away with a visceral understanding of this perception gap.

In its smart and thoughtful decisions, the press council concluded “the onus is on the press” to demonstrate that it reported responsibly “following appropriate journalistic guidelines” in a manner transparent to the public.

While I agree with the overall thrust of that, on the Ford file I don’t think the Star (or the Globe, for that matter) need take all of the responsibility for this difference in perception.

Both news organizations went to great lengths to explain to readers the public interest aspects of their reporting on the Fords and the steps taken to verify information in line with standards set out by our internal codes of conduct and the law’s standards of responsible journalism.

As the press council pointed out, the Star is transparent about the standards it seeks to hold itself to. Our Newsroom Policy and Journalistic Standards Guide is published on the Star’s website for readers to judge for themselves the Star’s journalism against the ideals expressed by its standards. And believe me, they do. I hear those concerns every single day.

Following the Star’s reporting on the video, I spoke with many people who judged the Star’s coverage to be unethical and unfair to the mayor. I tried to explain why the newsroom published this report and my view that the Star had reported responsibly in the public interest. It was an uphill task.

I realized I could not create any measure of understanding with some the day I listened to a voicemail from an irate woman who questioned why the Star had to reveal that two of its investigative reporters had viewed (three times) a video that showed Toronto’s mayor smoking what appeared to be crack cocaine and making racist and homophobic slurs.

As the Star has consistently reported, in line with its standards of fairness, Ford has since said publicly he does not smoke crack cocaine.

So now the press council has weighed in, judging that the Star’s reporting on the video is indeed the public’s business. (How could it not be?) A panel led by George Thomson, a well-respected retired judge and a former deputy minister of justice and deputy attorney general of Canada, determined the story was in the public interest, the reporters were thorough in their efforts to verify the video and Ford was given adequate opportunity to respond to the allegations before the story was published.

Speaking on CBC’s Metro Morning on Wednesday, Thomson provided thoughtful, informed reasoning for the press council’s decisions, explaining its careful deliberations on the law and journalistic standards.

Shortly thereafter, speaking on Talk Radio AM640, Doug Ford dismissed outright those decisions, labelling the press council as “an inside bunch of cronies.”

Ford stressed he was expressing his opinion. But, with a goal of creating better understanding for the Star’s readers, I have to tell you the facts don’t support his statements. The press council operates independently of newspapers with a majority of public members. The panel that scrutinized the Star’s reporting has no connection to the Star’s newsroom.

Judge for yourself who is responsible, but clearly what we have here is indeed a difference of perception.

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